1
|
Monk J. Diverse impacts of large herbivores. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:602-603. [PMID: 38337047 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02317-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Monk
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Monk JD, Donadio E, Gregorio PF, Schmitz OJ. Vicuña antipredator diel movement drives spatial nutrient subsidies in a high Andean ecosystem. Ecology 2024; 105:e4262. [PMID: 38351587 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Large animals could be important drivers of spatial nutrient subsidies when they ingest resources in some habitats and release them in others, even moving nutrients against elevational gradients. In high Andean deserts, vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) move daily between nutrient-rich wet meadows, where there is abundant water and forage but high risk of predation by pumas (Puma concolor), and nutrient-poor open plains with lower risk of predation. In all habitats, vicuñas defecate and urinate in communal latrines. We investigated how these latrines impacted soil and plant nutrient concentrations across three habitats in the Andean ecosystem (meadows, plains, and canyons) and used stable isotope analysis to explore the source of fecal nutrients in latrines. Latrine soils had higher concentrations of nitrogen, carbon, and other nutrients than did nonlatrine soils across all habitats. These inputs corresponded with an increase in plant quality (lower C:N) at latrine sites in plains and canyons, but not in meadows. Stable isotope mixing models suggest that ~7% of nutrients in plains latrines originated from vegetation in meadows, which is disproportionately higher than the relative proportion of meadow habitat (2.6%) in the study area. In contrast, ~68% of nutrients in meadow latrines appear to originate from plains and canyon vegetation, though these habitats made up nearly 98% of the study area. Vicuña diel movements thus appear to concentrate nutrients in latrines within habitats and to drive cross-habitat nutrient subsidies, with disproportionate transport from low-lying, nutrient-rich meadows to more elevated, nutrient-poor plains. When these results are scaled up to the landscape scale, the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus subsidized in soil at plains latrines was of the same order of magnitude as estimates of annual atmospheric nitrogen and phosphorus deposition for this region (albeit far more localized and patchy). Thus, vicuña-mediated nutrient redistribution and deposition appears to be an important process impacting ecosystem functioning in arid Andean environments, on par with other major inputs of nutrients to the system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia D Monk
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Fundación Rewilding Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Pablo F Gregorio
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre, INIBIOMA (Universidad Nacional del Comahue-CONICET), San Martín de los Andes, Argentina
| | - Oswald J Schmitz
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Ferraro KM, Welker L, Ward EB, Schmitz OJ, Bradford MA. Plant mycorrhizal associations mediate the zoogeochemical effects of calving subsidies by a forest ungulate. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:2280-2296. [PMID: 37667666 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Animals interact with and impact ecosystem biogeochemical cycling-processes known as zoogeochemistry. While the deposition of various animal materials (e.g. carcasses and faeces) has been shown to create nutrient hotspots and alter nutrient cycling and storage, the inputs from parturition (i.e. calving) have yet to be explored. We examine the effects of ungulate parturition, which often occurs synchronously during spring green-up and therefore aligns with increased plant nitrogen demand in temperate biomes. Impacts of zoogeochemical inputs are likely context-dependent, where differences in material quality, quantity and the system of deposition modulate their impacts. Plant mycorrhizal associations, especially, create different nutrient-availability contexts, which can modify the effects of nutrient inputs. We, therefore, hypothesize that mycorrhizal associations modulate the consequences of parturition on soil nutrient dynamics and nitrogen pools. We established experimental plots that explore the potential of two kinds of zoogeochemical inputs deposited at ungulate parturition (placenta and natal fluid) in forest microsites dominated by either ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) or ectomycorrhizal (EcM) plants. We assess how these inputs affect rates of nutrient cycling and nitrogen content in various ecosystem pools, using isotope tracers to track the fate of nitrogen inputs into plant and soil pools. Parturition treatments accelerate nutrient cycling processes and increase nitrogen contents in the plant leaf, stem and fine root pools. The ecosystem context strongly modulates these effects. Microsites dominated by ErM plants mute parturition treatment impacts on most nutrient cycling processes and plant pools. Both plant-fungal associations are, however, equally efficient at retaining nitrogen, although retention of nitrogen in the parturition treatment plots was more than two times lower than in control plots. Our results highlight the potential importance of previously unexamined nitrogen inputs from animal inputs, such as those from parturition, in contributing to fine-scale heterogeneity in nutrient cycling and availability. Animal inputs should therefore be considered, along with their interactions with plant mycorrhizal associations, in terms of how zoogeochemical dynamics collectively affect nutrient heterogeneity in ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kristy M Ferraro
- Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Les Welker
- Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Elisabeth B Ward
- The New York Botanical Garden, The Bronx, New York, USA
- The Forest School, Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Environmental Science and Forestry, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Oswald J Schmitz
- Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Mark A Bradford
- Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- The Forest School, Yale University School of the Environment, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Losada M, Sobral M, Silvius KM, Varela S, Martínez Cortizas AM, Fragoso JMV. Mammal traits and soil biogeochemistry: Functional diversity relates to composition of soil organic matter. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10392. [PMID: 37600493 PMCID: PMC10433116 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammal diversity affects carbon concentration in Amazonian soils. It is known that some species traits determine carbon accumulation in organisms (e.g., size and longevity), and are also related to feeding strategies, thus linking species traits to the type of organic remains that are incorporated into the soil. Trait diversity in mammal assemblages - that is, its functional diversity - may therefore constitute another mechanism linking biodiversity to soil organic matter (SOM) accumulation. To address this hypothesis, we analyzed across 83 mammal assemblages in the Amazon biome (Guyana), the elemental (by ED-XRF and CNH analysis) and molecular (FTIR-ATR) composition of SOM of topsoils (401 samples) and trait diversity (functional richness, evenness, and divergence) for each mammal assemblage. Lower mammal functional richness but higher functional divergence were related to higher content of carbonyl and aliphatic SOM, potentially affecting SOM recalcitrance. Our results might allow the design of biodiversity management plans that consider the effect of mammal traits on carbon sequestration and accumulation in soils.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- María Losada
- EcoPast (GI‐1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de BioloxíaUniversidade de Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de CompostelaSpain
| | - Mar Sobral
- EcoPast (GI‐1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de BioloxíaUniversidade de Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de CompostelaSpain
| | - Kirsten M. Silvius
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental ConservationVirginia TechBlacksburgVirginiaUSA
| | - Sara Varela
- MAPAS Lab, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía AnimalUniversidade de VigoVigoSpain
| | - Antonio M. Martínez Cortizas
- CRETUS – EcoPast (GI‐1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de BioloxíaUniversidade de Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de CompostelaSpain
| | - José M. V. Fragoso
- Departamento de ZoologiaUniversidade de BrasíliaBrasíliaBrazil
- Institute of Biodiversity Science and SustainabilityCalifornia Academy of SciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Losada M, Martínez Cortizas AM, Silvius KM, Varela S, Raab TK, Fragoso JM, Sobral M. Mammal and tree diversity accumulate different types of soil organic matter in the northern Amazon. iScience 2023; 26:106088. [PMID: 36915677 PMCID: PMC10006633 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Diversity of plants and animals influence soil carbon through their contributions to soil organic matter (SOM). However, we do not know whether mammal and tree communities affect SOM composition in the same manner. This question is relevant because not all forms of carbon are equally resistant to mineralization by microbes and thus, relevant to carbon storage. We analyzed the elemental and molecular composition of 401 soil samples, with relation to the species richness of 83 mammal and tree communities at a landscape scale across 4.8 million hectares in the northern Amazon. We found opposite effects of mammal and tree richness over SOM composition. Mammal diversity is related to SOM rich in nitrogen, sulfur and iron whereas tree diversity is related to SOM rich in aliphatic and carbonyl compounds. These results help us to better understand the role of biodiversity in the carbon cycle and its implications for climate change mitigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- María Losada
- CRETUS - EcoPast (GI-1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Antonio M. Martínez Cortizas
- CRETUS - EcoPast (GI-1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kirsten M. Silvius
- Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Sara Varela
- MAPAS Lab, Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
| | - Ted K. Raab
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Deparment of Global Ecology, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Jose M.V. Fragoso
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasılia, Brasılia, DF 70910-900, Brazil
- Institute of Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Mar Sobral
- CRETUS - EcoPast (GI-1553), Departmento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Corresponding author
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ferreira CM, Dammhahn M, Eccard JA. Forager‐mediated cascading effects on food resource species diversity. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9523. [DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Clara Mendes Ferreira
- Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Melanie Dammhahn
- Behavioural Biology, Institute for Neurobiology and Behavioural Biology University of Münster Münster Germany
| | - Jana A. Eccard
- Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Abraham A, Duvall E, Ferraro K, Webster A, Doughty C, le Roux E, Ellis‐Soto D. Understanding anthropogenic impacts on zoogeochemistry is essential for ecological restoration. Restor Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Abraham
- School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems Northern Arizona University Flagstaff USA
| | - Ethan Duvall
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca USA
| | - Kristy Ferraro
- School of the Environment Yale University Connecticut USA
| | - Andrea Webster
- Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| | - Chris Doughty
- School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems Northern Arizona University Flagstaff USA
| | - Elizabeth le Roux
- Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Section of EcoInformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology Aarhus University Denmark
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK
| | - Diego Ellis‐Soto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University Connecticut USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Guariento RD, Dalponti G, Carneiro LS, Caliman A. Prey defense phenotype mediates multiple-predator effects in tri-trophic food-webs. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2023-2036. [PMID: 35839141 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
1. The emphasis on mechanisms governing the interaction among predators (e.g., cooperation, competition, or intraguild predation) has driven the understanding of multiple-predator effects on prey survival and dynamics. However, overwhelming evidence shows that prey can adaptively respond to predators, exhibiting multiple defensive phenotypes to cope with predation. Nevertheless, there is still a relatively scarce theory connecting the emergence of prey defenses in complex multi-predator scenarios and their ecological consequences. 2. Using a mathematical approach, we evaluated the prevalence of defended prey phenotypes as a function of predator-induced mortality in a two-predator system, and how prey and phenotype dynamics affect trophic cascades. We also evaluated such responses when prey manifests a general defense against both predators (i.e., risk-reducing) or a specialized defense against one predator at the expense of defense against the other predator (i.e., risk trade-off), and when such phenotypes induce fitness and foraging costs. 3. We showed that the emergence of defended phenotypes under multiple predators depends on predator-induced mortality rates, the magnitude of phenotype costs, and the effect of the defensive phenotype on the performance of all predators. 4. Risk-reducing phenotypes enhance prioritized responses to predators with high killing rates, but prioritized responses are diminished when prey manifest risk trade-off phenotypes. Finally, we showed that resource abundance across the predation gradient directly depends on the prevalence of certain prey phenotypes and their effect on foraging costs. 5. Ultimately, our results depict the implications of prey defenses on prey and basal resources abundance in a multiple predators' environment, highlighting the role of the identity of defensive strategies in mediating the strength and nature of trophic cascades, via consumptive or non-consumptive effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Dettogni Guariento
- Laboratório de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, 79070-900, MS, Brasil
| | - Guilherme Dalponti
- Laboratório de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, 79070-900, MS, Brasil
| | - Luciana Silva Carneiro
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, 59078-970, RN, Brasil
| | - Adriano Caliman
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, 59078-970, RN, Brasil
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Little CJ, Rizzuto M, Luhring TM, Monk JD, Nowicki RJ, Paseka RE, Stegen JC, Symons CC, Taub FB, Yen JDL. Movement with meaning: integrating information into meta‐ecology. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea J. Little
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Univ. of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
- School of Environmental Science, Simon Fraser Univ. Burnaby BC Canada
| | - Matteo Rizzuto
- Dept of Biology, Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland St. John's NL Canada
| | | | - Julia D. Monk
- School of the Environment, Yale Univ. New Haven CT USA
| | - Robert J. Nowicki
- Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration, Mote Marine Laboratory Summerland Key FL USA
| | - Rachel E. Paseka
- Dept of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Univ. of Minnesota Saint Paul MN USA
| | | | - Celia C. Symons
- Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of California Irvine CA USA
| | - Frieda B. Taub
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Univ. of Washington Seattle WA USA
| | - Jian D. L. Yen
- School of BioSciences, Univ. of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, and Arthur Rylah Inst. for Environmental Reserach Heidelberg Victoria Australia
| |
Collapse
|